Exploring notions of femininity amongst a group of black women.
Date
2011-04-04
Authors
Banyana, Makongoza
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Abstract
This research, titled, exploring notions of femininity among a group of black women, investigates the manner in which a group of selected black women identified themselves as women regardless of the roles they play at home and in the community. The participants selected for this study comprises of fiveteen (15) black South African women, within a specific context of geographical location, varying from ages 23-40.Twelve (12) participants are resident at Tshitavha which falls under ward thirty-one (31) at Vhulaudzi Village, Makhado Municipality, Limpopo Province while the other three (3) are staff members from Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Chris-Hani Baragwanath hospital. The criteria used during the selection of participants were voluntary with exception that they had to be from that specific location/ village, black South African woman and between ages 23-40.Qualitative methods were used and the study employed thematic content analysis as a method of data analysis. One-on-one interviews and two (2) focus groups interviews were the main methods of data collection and snowball sampling was another method which was used when selecting the participants for the individual/ one-on-one interviews. Both types of interviews were conducted with this varied sample of black women. Key themes were identified and discussed. The results indicated how gender played a role in how the participants perceive themselves and how growing up with oppression affected how they performed in their lives.